I Never Thought I Would Be Draco Malfoy's Lawyer
by Verquinox
Summary: Hermione Granger is stuck in a rut. She's got no boyfriend, her job is less than satisfying. But will her latest client change all that? Rated T for possible sex scenes in the future.
1. Chapter 1

_"Happy birthday to you,_

_ happy birthday to you._

_ Happy birthday, dear Hermione. _

_ Happy birthday to youuuuu."_

The worst-sung rendition of the Happy Birthday song I'd ever heard echoed through the walls of the Burrow. Everyone laughed and clapped as I blew out the thirty candles on my cake. That's right. I'd hit the big three-oh. Safe to say, my life hadn't quite turned out the way I'd planned. Although I am strongly against the prejudice that women have to have kids as soon as they hit adulthood, I had always thought I would have had at least one or two children by now.

I looked around the living room of the Burrow. The main highlight of the party was now over; everyone had gone back to their conversations. Bill was involved in an extremely loud argument with Charlie about Quidditch. Honestly, the way men went on and on and on about that wretched sport. Nearby, Fleur, her waist still narrow, even after three kids, was supervising Victoire and Teddy's play-time with a wary eye. It wasn't that they got into trouble or broke stuff, it was just that their games seemed to get a little... _Passionate _sometimes.

It was hard to keep a scowl off my face when I saw Harry and Ginny, surrounded by most of the Weasley family. Them and their stupid perfect life and their stupid perfect house and their stupid perfect children. I felt like yelling, _Hello! It's _my _birthday! You are all supposed to be paying attention to me, not _them. But I didn't, of course.

I looked around some more. More children. Yay. There was Angelina, very pregnant and very happy. Even _George_- George, who everyone thought would never come out of his room after Fred died- had kids. Even _Percy- _that old stick in the mud.

"Hermione, dear, have some cake. Everyone's just _dying _to talk to you," Mrs Weasley appeared in front of me, taking me by the arm and planting me in the thick of all the conversation. I felt like an idiot.

"Happy birthday 'Mione," a voice said from behind me. I turned around saw Ron, freckles and all. I felt myself starting to go red, like I always did when this particular red-haired person was in my vicinity.

We'd gone out for a while after the war, maybe because everyone always expected something to happen between us. But nothing ever did. We kind of... petered out. Ran out of steam.

"Um... Thanks?" I don't know if it was the same for everyone, but it was incredibly difficult to make conversation with Ron after we had broken up. I was just wondering whether I knew enough about the Chubby- Chuggy?- Canons to discuss it with him, when Harry wandered over.

"Happy Birthday!" he said, giving me a big hug. I've always suspected that part of the reason Ron and I never worked out was that he always suspected that there was something going on between Harry and me, even though I'd denied it many, many times. "So, what big birthday plans have you got?" He handed me a glass of mead.

"Harry, my birthday is already over," I pointed out. He might be the Chosen One, but he was a complete idiot sometimes.

"So what? That's no reason not to celebrate!" he said, slightly over-enthusiastic.

"Thanks, Harry, but I'm probably going to spend tomorrow, as well as subsequent days, up to my neck in work."

Actually this was a slight exaggeration. I wasn't going to be up to my neck in work. More like up to my knees. I didn't know why, but ever since I'd ditched Cormac, my workload seemed to have shrunk. Granted, I'd been about as pleasant company as an angry Hippogriff for a couple of weeks, but now that I was over it (sort of), you'd think they'd give me my usual amount of cases again. But no. They kept giving me all the minor ones, and they gave all the good ones to that obnoxious twat Romilda Vane. She'd only been in the office seven months! She was way too inexperienced to handle the cases of the caliber they had been giving her, of the caliber they used to give me...

Suddenly, a baby started crying. I looked around for Harry, but he was already across the room, comforting Lily. Angelina was yelling as quietly as she could at Fred ll for giving Lily one of Fred and George's trick wands which had turned into a bat. It seemed like she'd had a lot of practice in quiet yelling- who wouldn't with Fred Weasley ll as a son? Three years old and he was already well on his way to becoming one of the greatest, if not the greatest prankster of all time.

"Oh, mum, we've got to go now, it's getting really late," Ginny said to Mrs. Weasley. "Got to put Lily to bed, and Harry's got work tomorrow."

Once the Potters had left, everyone else suddenly became aware of the time too. Murmurs of "Work tomorrow," and "Kids are getting sleepy" were echoed throughout the room. I felt a twinge of insecurity. Was my party really that boring? I glanced at the clock.

"Godric! It's past midnight!" I let out a little yelp. "Thanks awfully for the party, Mrs Weasley, but I've got to go now!"

"Of course, dear," Mrs Weasley looked at me. There was something indefinable in her expression. Was it sadness? Pity? No, it was something more than that... but I couldn't tell what. "Have a good night."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks again for the party, Mrs Weasley." I gave her a peck on the cheek and headed for the fireplace.

I reached my empty apartment and sighed. No pattering of children's feet. No man to welcome me home or kiss me goodnight. I'd defeated the Dark Lord, for Godric's sake. How hard could it be to get a boyfriend?

I reached the Ministry the next day to be greeted by Romilda Vane's million Galleon smile.

"Good morning, Ms. Granger," she said brightly. I grunted in response. For some reason I felt like stabbing her.

Undeterred by my response, or lack thereof, she continued. "There's a case file on your desk today, Ms. Granger, it's a new case for you. The client will be coming in to see you shortly, so you'd best be ready."

Ignoring, her last words, I walked into my office. I could see the case-file sitting on my desk, but for reasons unknown I chose to ignore it. Why bother? It was probably some batty old witch claiming that she had been over-charged for a case of Complexion Replenishing Potion ('Replenishes your Complexion to Perfection!'). I sat down and warily eyed the file. I didn't even know why I bothered coming into work anymore if my only reward was Romilda Vane's annoying chatter and more stupid cases.

Just as I was about to open the file, Romilda stuck her head round the door and announced, "Your client's here, Ms. Granger."

Damn. I hadn't read the case file yet. I looked up to tell Romilda to stall the client for a minute but she was gone. The door opened, and a horrifyingly familiar face sauntered in.

"_Granger? You're _my lawyer?"

My jaw dropped. There was no mistaking that familiar drawl and that sleek blonde hair. Hoping beyond hope that someone was playing a trick, that it was just some kind of severely misguided birthday joke, I flipped open the case file. There it was, in black and white, the name that would surely be my downfall.

_Client: Draco Malfoy_


	2. Chapter 2

Draco's POV

When I walked into the Ministry that day to meet my lawyer, I had a lot of other things on my mind. So, naturally, the last thing I was expecting to see was Hermione Granger sitting in my lawyer's office. I was just about to ask what in the name of Merlin she was doing there when I realized that she was my lawyer.

"Granger? _You're_ my lawyer?"

Wow. She had changed. For a start, she actually had breasts now. And her legs were pretty long. She didn't look so much like a chipmunk anymore either. In fact, she looked quite... Quite... Quite nice in fact.

Granger was staring at me like she had never seen a human being before. Without waiting to be asked, I took a seat and waited for her to speak. She was frantically flipping through her case file. Someone hadn't been doing their work. Naughty naughty. Finally, she looked up.

"So, Mr Malfoy. How can I help you?" she asked.

I smirked. "You're my lawyer. Win the case for me."

"The case that you cheated on your wife and thus she is demanding a share of your fortune?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right," I think I sounded a little bitter, and I think Granger noticed it too, because she looked at me oddly before turning back to the file.

"So the plaintiff is your wife, Astoria Gree-uh, Astoria Malfoy. And she's accused you of cheating," she repeated. "Yes," Merlin, was this the best she could do? I would have thought she would be a little better at her job, given what she had been like at school.

"So who is it?" she asked, looking at me straight in the eye.

"Who is what?" I said, completely nonplussed.

"Who did you cheat on your wife with?"

"I didn't," I said. Honestly, if I had a sickle for every time someone had asked me that since Astoria had made her case public...

"Really?" she demanded incredulously.

"I might be a slimy little git, but I do know how to honor an agreement," I said, knowing full well she wouldn't believe me.

She gave me a scrutinizing look before continuing. "Well, who does your wife think you cheated on her with?"

"Pansy Parkinson."

"And what is her lawyer's name?"

"Pansy doesn't have a lawyer."

After struggling with what seemed to be an internal urge to curse me, she took a deep breath.

"I meant Astoria's. Your wife's," she said, like she was talking to a little kid.

"Oh. Parvati Patil." Granger raised her eyebrows in surprise. Certainly, this case seemed to be comprised of all her -our- ex-classmates.

"Very well, Mr Malfoy," she said, sounding more business-like than she had the whole meeting. "I will meet with Ms Patil and discuss a possible settlement, if any. In the meantime, it would be best if you avoided your wife. Don't give her anything else to sue you for."

She stood up and extended her hand. "If that is all?"

I stood up too. I saw a challenge in her eyes, like she was daring me to call her a mudblood. But I wasn't stupid enough to call Hermione Granger a mudblood right in the middle of the Ministry. She'd probably jinx me to a jelly before I could say "It was a joke." I shook her hand, rather surprised at her firm grip.

"Alright. Goodbye, Granger."

Just as I was about to leave, she said loudly," One more thing. Since I am your lawyer, you will accord me the respect that is due to me. Do you understand?"

I turned around to face her. Smirking, I said, "Yes, _Ms_ Granger. Goodbye." I walked out of her office. So. My wife was suing me for cheating on her with my ex-classmate, and Hermione Granger was my lawyer. Who would have guessed?

**AN: I know there were some formatting issues, so here's the fixed version**


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione's POV

I wobbled awkwardly in my new heels, a birthday present from Ginny. Lawyer rule #1- Always dress to impress. This case was no exception, even if Malfoy was the client.

I'd seriously considered dropping the case. Working in a civil manner with Draco Malfoy wasn't on the list of things I could do easily. But since so few cases were coming my way anyway, if I didn't take this one it might come off badly. In fact, compared to some of the other cases I'd been getting, this one was pretty important.

I knocked on the door of Parvati's office. We had been friends in Hogwarts, maybe that could help in trying to work out some sort of deal.

I walked into Parvati's spacious office, which was much bigger than mine. Private practice clearly had its advantages.

"Hermione! Oh it's so good to see you!" she squealed. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," I said, discreetly ducking out of her hug. "I'm here about a case."

"Oh, you want me to represent you?" she asked, sitting down and indicating that I do the same.

"No," I said, trying not to look incredulous. "I'm defending someone whom one of your clients is suing."

"Oh, I see," she said, dropping her friendly exterior. So much for our friendship helping us to work out a deal then. " What is your client's name?"

"Draco Malfoy."

"Ah yes," she murmured, fishing out a piece of paper from the piles she had on her desk. "Yes, yes, my client is very angry, there is no doubt. And she is quite justified in her anger, I must say."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, intrigued. Lawyer rule #2- always ask questions.

She gave a sweet smile that I did not believe was genuine for even a second. "Because of the evidence, of course. It's quite compelling. Add to that the testimony of a grief-stricken, devoted wife who was betrayed brutally by her beloved husband, and you get a winning case."

"Evidence? What evidence?" I blurted out without thinking. Lawyer rule #3- never let the opponent see your weaknesses. Parvati smirked. Damn. I'd let her get the upper hand. It was all Malfoy's fault. Why didn't he tell me? Even a person of his intelligence should know that evidence was extremely important in any case.

"I can hardly tell you that now can I?" she said. "Anyway, your client should know. He's the one who left it behind."

Making a mental note to yell at Malfoy, I pressed on. "It's that compelling? Compelling enough to win the case?"

"Oh, I dare say. In fact, it's so compelling that after winning the case, there will probably be some left over to win another case." She gave a tinkling laugh which made me want to pull my hair out.

"That confident you're going to win, Parvati?" I asked. Lawyer rule #4- mind games.

"Yes," she said. "And since we are opposing counsel, it is only right that you refer to me as Ms Patil."

"Well, Ms Patil. I was wondering if there was any possibility of a deal between our clients."

"A deal? Absolutely not. With the evidence I've got, I'm going to convict him, whether you like it or not. No deal. In time, when and if I feel it is prudent, I will offer you a deal. And rest assured, the possibility of that is extremely minute."

"So what happens if you do convict him? What will your client get?"

"Well, according to the pre-nuptial that was dra-"

"Wait. What? What pre-nuptial agreement?" Another one to add to the list of 'Important things Draco Malfoy didn't tell me'. Honestly, how did he expect me to fight his case for him if he kept leaving out bits and pieces of vital information?

Parvati looked surprised that I didn't know about this pre-nuptial agreement. I would be too if I were her.

"The one that was drawn up before their wedding. Didn't your client tell you?"

"No, he didn't. What are the terms of this agreement?"

Beaming ear to ear, Parvati gleefully elaborated on the terms of the pre-nup. The terms were quite frankly incredible. They stated that that in the event that Draco was caught cheating, Astoria was entitled to half of all Draco's money and assets. No wonder she was suing.

"So you see Hermione," said Parvati, like she'd already won the case. "It really is quite a straightforward matter. Open and shut, you might say."

I blinked rather rapidly. Parvati was right, it was actually a pretty easy case. I couldn't find a single loophole. At a loss for anything else to say, I said, " So there is absolutely no possibility of settling this out of court?"

"No Ms Granger, I have already said that-"

Suddenly, the door flew open and a man walked in.

"Hey, Parv, you ready to leav-Oh. Hi, Hermione," Ron Weasley, wearing a suit and holding a corsage in his hand said, his blue eyes going very wide when he saw me.

Everything came rushing back. Our relationship, our fights, that time in the Hog's Head when he asked me to be his girlfriend. I remembered feeling on the top of the world. I remembered our quarrels becoming more and more frequent, until finally one day he just yelled that 'This whole thing is just a huge mistake'.

I could only gape at him, open mouthed. Ron? And Parvati Patil? That was just great. Just great. So now not only was the opposing counsel my ex classmate, she was dating my ex boyfriend. I closed my mouth and swallowed.

Ron stared blankly at the two of us for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I- I didn't know you had a meeting. I'll, er, just wait outside shall I?" he stammered. He quietly walked to the door and closed it behind him, leaving behind a very awkward situation.

I guess Parvati must have noticed the extremely uncomfortable silence, and said," Well Ms Granger, is there anything else?"

Yes. Yes there is, I wanted to say. You are dating my ex boyfriend. You are dating my ex boyfriend and you are the opposing counsel. You are dating my ex boyfriend and that makes me the only person I know who is single at the age of 30. Now I'm  
>old and alone, and I'm going to die a spinster with sixty cats, and the one thing that kept me going-this vindictive sense of pleasure that at least Ron was single too-the one thing that didn't make me feel utterly useless and unloved has been taken away from me, by you. Thanks a lot, Parvati, thanks a lot.<p>

But of course I couldn't say all that. The last thing I needed, on top of everything else, was a lawsuit for slander. So I had to swallow my pride, stand up, shake her hand and go "No, Ms Patil, there isn't anything else. I'll see you in court," like I wasn't jealous and hurt and angry and confused and like I wasn't going to go back home that day, put on my pajamas, curl up in a ball and cry my heart out, with only Crookshanks for company.


	4. Chapter 4

Draco's POV (4)

I was having dinner alone in my house (Astoria was at her parents' place) when a large tawny owl fluttered in through the window. It landed on my table and held out a leg. There was a letter attached.

_Dear Mr Draco Malfoy_, it read_. I would like to meet with you to discuss your options in this case. Please come down to the Ministry tomorrow at noon.__  
><em>_Sincerely__  
><em>_Hermione Jean Granger_

There was a little splotch of water on the word 'Granger'. Funny, Granger didn't seem to be the type who would spill water on letter.

I looked up, the tawny owl was still there. Then I realized it was waiting for a reply. I grabbed some spare parchment.

_Dear Ms Granger,__  
><em>_That will do well.__  
><em>_Draco Malfoy_

I gave the owl the letter and I watched it fly out of the window, probably back to Granger.

I turned back to my house. My large, empty house. With a shudder I remembered that Granger had been in here- I had watched her be tortured in here. The very thought made me feel ill. I pushed my food away. I had no appetite anymore.

Who would have thought my life would come to this? Draco Malfoy, sued by his wife. I could just see the headlines.

But maybe my marriage to Astoria was a mistake. We didn't love each other. She was pure-blood, I was pure-blood, so why not, right? Besides, she knew nothing about my past. She still didn't. Maybe that was the reason we fell apart. Maybe that was the reason we didn't have kids. I don't know why, but throughout our 6 years of marriage, the question of children never really came up. Wr were young when we married, I was 24, she was 22. At that time, we were still recovering from the war, picking up the last few pieces, still trying to put our lives back together. Everyone was. Perhaps we both assumed that there would be plenty of time in the future, no need to worry... But that time never came. I didn't regret never having a child or two (my mother seemed more bothered about this than I was) but sometimes, I did wonder, especially when I saw old friends who had a family, what having kids would be like. I wasn't longing for children, but sometimes I thought that maybe if me and Astoria had had kids, we wouldn't be going through an extremely messy divorce, not to mention a lawsuit.

I sighed and turned my thoughts back to the letter on the table. Granger had probably gone to see Astoria's lawyer. I wondered if they had made any deal, but I highly doubted it. Astoria and her lawyer seemed to think they had the case in the bag.

I looked out of the window. It was getting pretty late, the sky was an inky black. I yawned and decided to turn in, wondering what my 'options' in the case were. Something told me there weren't going to be many.

The Ministry was a hive of activity as usual. As I strolled to to Granger's office, I watched as some severely harried looking wizards rushed around, carrying trails of parchment so long they trailed on the ground.

I knocked on Granger's office door and was greeted by her secretary, who was smiling a little too brightly to be natural.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy," she trilled. Merlin, she had a high voice. It sounded like the musical saw was being played by a completely talentless person. "Right this way, please. Ms Granger is expecting you." She was pretty decent looking, actually. If she kept her mouth shut she might get somewhere.

I walked in through the door the secretary was holding open for me. My first impression was that Granger looked ill. Her eyes were red and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her shirt looked like the Whomping Willow had ironed it, and her hair messier than it usually was, which was saying a lot.

"Ms Granger," I said, holding out my hand. Her grip wasn't as firm as before. I sat down. "So what did you need to discuss?"

She got straight to the point.

"What is this pre-nuptial agreement which you did not inform me of?" she asked.

Oh. That. I knew there was something I has forgotten to tell her. Damn.

"Oh, yes, well it says that-" I began, but she interrupted.

"I know what it says. But I would rather have found out about its existence from my client, rather than the plaintiff's lawyer."

There was something missing from her voice. The usual annoying, bossy tone was absent. That, coupled with her general resemblance to a train wreck, made me wonder what had happened.

"Now, is there anything else you would like to tell me?"

"No," I said.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

This was leading somewhere. She thought I was holding something back.

"Yes," I said, with conviction.

"Because Ms Patil tells me that there is evidence that incriminates you."

"Incriminates me in what?"

"Cheating."

"There can't be."

"Why not?"

"Because I never cheated."

She sighed. "Maybe you did and maybe you didn't. But your wife seems to think you did, and there must be some reason for that. What is it?"

Honestly, I had no idea what she kept banging on about. I really didn't know the reason why Astoria thought I had cheated on her (except perhaps insanity), and I said so.

Granger sighed again and rubbed her eyes.

"Listen, Mr Malfoy. I am your lawyer and I will represent you to the best of my ability. But unless you give me you full co-operation, I cannot help you," she sounded exasperated- her temper seemed to be a little shorter. But since I'd met her all of one time since we'd left school, maybe I wasn't the best judge.

She kept looking at me. "Well, Mr Malfoy? Is there anything I need to know?"

I hesitated. There was something, but I hadn't even told my mother, let alone my lawyer.

"This is not a time to feel embarrassed, Mr Malfoy. If there is anything, I need to know about it now."

I took a deep breath. Well, it was going to get out sometime.

"Well, Astoria and I had had a fight. It was about something really trivial. Well, I needed to get out of the house, so I went to the park. Pansy was there. We started talking, then Astoria turned up. And she saw us together and she kind of... Jumped to conclusions."

Granger put her quill down and began massaging her temples. After what seemed like a long time, she looked up.

"She saw you two together. In the park. What time was it? Was it crowded?" she asked, sounding rather resigned.

"It was night time. And it was pretty empty."

She groaned. The sound of it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up... It was a surprisingly sexy sound. I shook my head violently. This case must really be messing with my head.

"Godric, this is going to be hell to sort out. Look. The first hearing is next week. I'll try to get Ms Parkinson to testify for us. In the meantime, you just stay out of trouble," she snapped.

I felt a little annoyed at this. "I haven't been causing any trouble. And there's no need to take that tone with me," She might be my lawyer, but that did not give her any right to snap at me when I, for once, wasn't in the wrong.

I expected her to yell back, but she slumped into her chair and buried her face in her hands.

"You're right, I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled.

I was completely flabbergasted. Granger was apologizing to me. Hermione Granger. Apologizing. To me, Draco Malfoy. Clearly, there was something very wrong with her.

"I'm sorry... Did you just apologize to me?" I asked. I was too shocked to care about how that question sounded.

Granger didn't answer. She just continued to sit there, her head in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking. To my horror, I realized she was crying.

I almost jumped up. I looked frantically around, as though a manual on how to deal with crying females would fall from the sky. I should probably have called her secretary, who was probably better equipped to deal with this sort of thing. But I really wanted to find out why she was crying. I had never seen Hermione Granger cry. _Ever_. Then I realized... The splotch of water on the letter she sent me- it wasn't water. It was a tear.

"Uh... Ms Granger? Are you, er, alright?" I said nervously. Maybe I should go closer. Maybe I should pat her head or something. But before I could decide whether or not to discreetly let myself out and send her secretary in, she laughed.

"Honestly Malfoy," she said, wiping her face with her hands. "Is that the best you can do to comfort a crying woman? No wonder you wife is divorcing you."

My mouth fell open.

"Granger, are you... Are you making a joke? Blimey, I didn't think that was possible."

She giggled. It sounded exactly like a giggle an excited teenage girl might give.

"Yes, Mr Malfoy. Yes I am. And I have made jokes before, you know." She sat up straight. To my relief, she had stopped crying.

"Er... Well, then. I'll just be going, then. I mean, if you are, um, okay now. I'll just... Leave you alone now, yeah?" I edged away from her desk as fast as possible.

"Wait, Mr Malfoy," she called. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For making me feel better," she said, and her face broke into the most genuine smile I'd seen on her face since I'd met her.

The whole room transformed, as if it had become brighter... And Granger herself looked like a completely different person. She looked... She looked very nice, actually, Her eyes especially. They looked so different now that she was smiling. They were so brown. How was it I had never noticed her smile before? Merlin, I told myself. What's wrong with you, Draco? Pull yourself together, man!

"Er, you're welcome? Goodbye, Ms Granger," I said. As I closed the door, I had one last glimpse of her, sitting at her desk, still smiling. She still looked very nice. I closed the door and took a deep breath.

What in the name of Merlin had just happened?


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione's POV

"All rise for the arrival of Judge Bell," the clerk announced. Judge Bell swept into the courtroom, wearing robes of a magnificent maroon. He motioned for everyone to sit.

"Hobbins," he said. "The case details, please."

"The plaintiff, Astoria Malfoy,neè Greengrass, is suing the defendant, Draco Malfoy for half of his assets, an amount that adds up to forty-five and a half million Galleons," Hobbins recited tonelessly. Forty-five and a half million Galleons? Wow. I knew the Malfoy family was rich, of course, but forty-five and a half million? And that too was only half of his money.

"Alright," said the Judge. "Ms Patil, would you like to make your opening statement?"

Ms Patil did so with gusto. Her opening statement was full of melodramatic cliches about a bereaved wife who was abandoned by her man-slut of her husband. Honestly, the way she was going on about it, it was as though Malfoy had bedded every woman from here to the South of France. Ms Patil wrapped up her opening statement with this:

"I intend to prove to the world that Draco Malfoy was a compulsive cheater who did not bother to uphold the sanctity of marriage. Furthermore, by cheating on his wife, he rendered the pre-nuptial agreement that he and my client entered into null and void. The terms of the agreement state that my client, is entitled to half of all the defendant's money and assets. Despite knowing what he stood to loose id strayed, he could  
>not control his impulses, and he caused his wife, my client, a lot of distress and grief. I hope that my client will get what she rightly deserves. Thank you."<p>

I had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that Parvati Patil was actually a pretty good lawyer. Her opening statement was excellent, succinct yet dramatic. However, I wasn't the head of the lawyers' division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for nothing. I stood.

"Indeed, Your Honour, this pre-nuptial agreement is a key factor in this case. Half of all of my client's fortune is a hefty amount- an amount certain unscrupulous people would stop at nothing to get," I stopped to look at Parvati. She looked scandalized. Repressing a smirk with difficulty, I continued.

"It has happened before. As an example I refer you to the case of Martina Collins, who framed her son in a crime in order to get at the three million Galleons her late husband had left him. My client is an innocent man. If he did have intentions of cheating, why draw up such a pre-nuptial agreement, one that would give his wife half of everything. Wouldn't it make more sense to draw one up which gave his wife a smaller share in the event of any indiscretion? I intend to prove, Your Honor, that my client has been wrongly accused of infidelity by his wife, so that she would be able to get her hands on the money. Thank you."

I walked back to my table. I gave Parvati and Astoria a small smile as I passed them. As I sat down, Malfoy nodded at me.

"Nice one," he whispered. I nodded back, trying to ignore the warm glow inside me. Why was I feeling so happy all of a sudden? What was coming over me these days?

"Ms Patil, you may begin," said Judge Bell, sounding bored. I would be too if I were a judge, sitting in courtrooms day after day after day, listening to lawyers try and convince him who's right and who's wrong. It must be like having a lot of argumentative children.

The first part of the case was the presentation of evidence. We didn't have any, of course, and I assumed that the plaintiffs didn't have any either. Therefore I was extremely surprised when Parvati stood up and said, "Your Honor I invite you to take a look at the first piece of evidence- marked Exhibit A."

Of course! So this was the incriminating piece of evidence that she told me about when I met her! I could have slapped myself. I had asked Malfoy what it was, but when he denied knowing about any such evidence I assumed she was just employing lawyer rule #4 (mind games). I gave Malfoy a sidelong glance. Rather than looking worried, he was looking faintly amused, like he was intrigued to find out what his evidence might be.

Parvati pointed her wand at something on her desk. Something rose from it and floated to the Judge's desk. I heard stifled giggles from the reporters present in the room- the Malfoys were, after all, still an influential family. A camera began flashing immediately. I took a closer look at the evidence that was hovering in front of Judge Bell's face.

It was a pair of boxers.

I felt myself going scarlet. So this was her incriminating evidence? A pair Draco Malfoy's underwear? Admittedly, it was very incriminating. If Rita Skeeter had been around, the whole of Britain would know the exact size and colour of Draco Malfoy's boxers in no time.

"Ms Patil," said Judge Bell irritably. "Much as I appreciate you showing this piece of evidence to the whole courtroom, must you really hover it in front of my face?"

Parvati was rather taken aback. Caught up in the reflected glory of the... Er, undergarments, she probably hadn't noticed it's awkward position. She gave her wand a hasty wave and the underwear flopped back onto the table again. Thank Godric I didn't have to look at that anymore. I turned my head subtly to look at Malfoy's reaction to his underwear being paraded around for all to see, only to find he was staring at me with a brooding, intense kind of stare. I quickly directed my gaze back to Parvati, my face feeling rather warm. Why was he staring at me?

Parvati continued. "This piece of evidence was found by my client at the home of Pansy Parkinson."

Gasps could be heard throughout the courtroom. I turned to face Malfoy.

"Is this true?" I hissed.

"No!" he whispered angrily. "I've never even been to her place, I don't even know where it is!"

"Your Honor, I object. This is false evidence," I stood up immediately. Even as I did so, I wondered why I had believed Malfoy so quickly. The thirteen-year-old me who had socked him in the face would be ashamed.

"Of course the defendant's lawyer would say that, Your Honor," Parvati said quickly.

"Oh, like you're any less biased," I snapped.

"Alright, alright, put a lid on it," Judge Bell said, in a bored kind of way. "Ms Granger, you are in a courtroom. You will conduct yourself in an appropriate manner, and that includes addressing the opposing counsel in a manner that is appropriate. You will be given your chance to prove your client's innocence later. Ms Patil, you may continue."

I sat down, smarting that 'Ms Patil' didn't get a reprimand as well. Who did she think she was, that bloody hag?

Look very pleased with herself, Parvati continued.

"Like I was saying before I was interrupted, Exhibit A was found in the home of Ms Pansy Parkinson by my client. It is undeniably a very fishy thing to be found in anyone's home. Whose was it? Draco Malfoy's. Where was it found? Pansy Parkinson's house. Logic indicates that Draco Malfoy was the only one who could have brought it there. And he is also undeniably careless enough to leave something like that in another woman's house."

"Your Honor!" I jumped up. "The opposing counsel does not have the right to slight my client's personality. Section C, paragraph 24, subsection 3: Any aspect of the defendant's character which does not have a direct bearing on the case may not be mentioned, directly or otherwise, in the courtroom." I paused, slightly out of breath. Section C, paragraph 24, subsection 3 went on for three more pages. I was prepared to recite it all if I had to. But Judge Bell had heard enough.

"Yes, yes, I am well aware of the law, Ms Granger. Ms Patil, hold your tongue otherwise I will have to take more serious action," he said.

Parvati continued.

"Sorry, Your Honor. To continue. Why would Draco Malfoy leave such an item of clothing in someone else's house? Because he was in a hurry? As a gift?"

A gift? Who would want underwear as a gift? I could hear people chortling. I would have chortled too if Draco Malfoy was someone else's client.

"Regardless of the reason, Draco Malfoy's undergarments were found in another woman's house- a woman with whom he has had romantic relations before. So, I will leave you to draw your own conclusions from this, just as my client did. Thank you."

"Ms Granger?" Judge Bell asked. Anything to add?"

"Yes, Your Honor," I said. "Throughout Ms Patil's little speech, she did not once give a shred of proof that the... Er... Evidence belonged to my client." For some reason I couldn't bring myself to say 'Draco Malfoy's underwear'.

Parvati was looking at me like I was a kid who didn't know who Beedle the Bard was.

"I would think that your client's wife would know what his underwear looked like, wouldn't you?" she said sweetly. A ripple of laughter broke out in the courtroom. Even Judge Bell looked amused. I didn't dare to look at Malfoy. Godric, what he must have thought of me. I felt mortified. Did she mean what I thought she meant? Or was I just over-thinking things?

"Er..." I didn't know what else to say. I could see that knocking down this underwear thing was going to be difficult. "Er..."

"Well, since Ms Granger seems to have run out of useful things to say," said Jude Bell briskly. "I think we can move on. Ms Patil? Anymore evidence you would like to share with us?"

"No, Your Honor," she said. "That is all."

"Very well. Court is adjourned until next week." Judge Bell rose and swept out of the courtroom.

Everyone stood up and started to leave. Parvati, Astoria, Draco and I stood up too. Astoria was giving Draco a look that could kill, but he was just smirking at her, probably infuriating her further. I didn't blame her for looking murderous. Parvati gave me a small smile which undoubtedly said 'Parvati 1, Hermione 0'.

I watched them walk away from the courtroom, their heels going clickety clack on the cold marble floor. Honestly, how did they balance on those? The ones Ginny gave weren't nearly as tall as their heels and I was already struggling to walk. I didn't know how those spindly little things could take my weight.

"Ms Granger?" Malfoy's voice came from behind me. "Can we go now or are we waiting here until the next hearing?"

I turned around. He was smirking.

"Wha- Oh, yes. Yeah, we can go now," I said. What was wrong with me? Why did my thoughts keep wandering?

We set off from the courtroom. I made a mental note to stuff my shoes at the back of my cupboard and never wear them again.

As we passed the many empty rooms in the building, I looked into some of them. I always found it amusing to see what lawyers got up to when they thought no one was watching.

As we approached the biggest office in the place, I heard Parvati's distinctive giggle. She was in the office all right- but she wasn't alone. Ron was with her, and they were kissing.

Immediately my eyes clouded with tears, obscuring my vision. As much as I told myself that Ron wasn't worth all my tears, at that moment I would give anything- anything- to be in that room, kissing him.

I wondered if there was any way for me to wipe my eyes without Malfoy noticing. I really couldn't see where I was going.

Suddenly, my stomach lurched. For a moment I thought I'd forgotten to jump the trick step at Hogwarts, but it turned out that it wasn't a trick step, it was a real one, and I didn't see it.

Thrown off balance, I felt myself falling... I closed my eyes. If I cracked my head on those steps I'd surely be dead... But maybe, given the state of things, that wasn't such a bad idea.

I felt a warm hand grip my upper arm firmly.

"Woah there Granger," he said, still gripping my arm as he pulled me to a standing position. "Watch out. You don't have to kill yourself just because you saw my boxers."

I gaped. Was Malfoy making a joke? Another one?

"Yes Granger. I am making a joke. Just in case you were wondering," he sniggered. I gaped wider.

"Do you know Legilimency?" I demanded. Godric, a client who could invade my mind- Just my idea of a good time.

"No," he said. "I'm good at guessing what other people think, that's all." He smiled at me.

I stared at him. I didn't think I'd ever seen him smile before. The effect made him look... Look... Look quite handsome, really. His grey eyes lit up and he looked about ten years younger. How come I had never noticed him smile before?

I shivered slightly. I had goosebumps where he had held my arm. His touch was very gentle and very soft. I wouldn't mind it on... other parts of my body, really.

'Good Godric, Hermione Granger!' I told myself firmly. 'What is coming over you? He is your client. He is Draco Malfoy. Get a hold of yourself!'

I didn't know why, but ever since that day he made me laugh (somewhat), something had changed between us. It was like he was no longer Draco Malfoy, slimy little git, mudblood hater, all-round prat. Instead, he had become Draco Malfoy, normal human being. And quite an attractive one at that.

"Hello? Ms Granger?" Malfoy's voice came to me strangely blurred, like he was talking to me through a wall. I snapped back to my senses. Damn. He had almost caught me thinking about him. I couldn't let that happen.

"Yes, Mr Malfoy?" I asked.

"I've got to go now. Can I?"

The fact that Malfoy was asking me permission to do something threw me off guard for a moment.

"What? Oh, yes. Oh, we've got to meet before the next hearing, which is next Tuesday. I'll see you on Friday at my office at noon," I said, my stomach lurching at the thought of what Parvati would bring to the next hearing.

"Alright," he said. "Goodbye, Ms Granger."

He walked down the steps which he had just saved me from falling down. As I watched him go, I realized that the goosebumps had on my arm were still there. Funny. I never got goosebumps, except when I was feeling cold.

It wasn't till much later in my office when I realized that I'd forgotten that I'd seen Ron and Parvati kissing. For some reason, that didn't bother me very much. In fact, what bothered me more was how very attractive I found Draco Malfoy when he smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

Draco's POV

I was just putting on my trousers, getting ready to go to Granger's office, when a silver otter flew in through my open window. Out of instinct, I lunged for my wand, which was lying on my bedside table. Before I could raise it, however, the otter opened its mouth and spoke in Granger's voice.

"Do not come to office," it said. "Reporters. Come to Paul's Bar, on Westshire Street. I will meet you there." Having delivered its message, it disappeared in a haze of silver vapor. I blinked. That must have been Granger's patronus. I'd heard that the Order of the Phoenix communicated like this. It was quicker than using owls, definitely. I turned my wand over and over in my hand. I'd never been taught to cast a Patronus. Guess I'd never really been against the Dementors.

After dressing, I went downstairs. I glanced at the _Prophet_ and winced.

"MALFOY JUNIOR ACCUSED OF CHEATING ON WIFE," the headlines blared. "UNDERWEAR USED AS EVIDENCE IN COURT." Well, the _Prophet_ was hardly one to mince its words. It could make a simple story sound like a murder plot. Those must have been the reporters Granger had mentioned.

I chucked the Prophet into the fire and Apparated to Westshire Street, wondering for the umpteenth time when my life had become such a mess.

The sign on the street corner read 'Westshire Street', but there was no sign of either Paul's Bar or Granger. I looked around. The street was swarming with Muggles. I glanced at my watch. It was eleven fifty-nine. Granger was going to be l-

"Mr Malfoy! Over here!" I turned around and saw Granger hailing me from some distance away. Right on time as usual. She was standing outside Paul's Bar.

"How come I couldn't see this from the street?" I asked, sitting down at a table.

"It's pretty well concealed. That's why I chose it. We're less likely to be seen or heard," she said. "Would you like a coke?"

"A what?" I asked. There was a menu on the table. It was filled with things I'd never heard of before.

"A coke," she explained, hailing a waiter over. "It's a kind of fizzy drink Muggles like. Two, please," she told the waiter.

The waiter turned to me. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Oh. Um, no thank you," I said. Once the waiter had gone, Granger turned to me.

"I've been trying to reach Pansy Parkinson to get her to testify for you. But I can't reach her. It would seem she's not in the country. Do you know where she might be?"

I shrugged. "Haven't the slightest. Why should I know where she is anyway?"

"Well, you were classmates. And you did date for a bit. I just assumed that you would keep in touch."

"What I did with Pansy wasn't exactly dating," I snorted. "It was a little more physical."

Granger went scarlet. It was actually quite amusing to watch the red slowly spread across her cheeks. She looked very endearing.

She coughed. "I just thought that maybe... Oh, never mind."

The waiter came over, carrying two tall glasses of some black liquid. I eyed it warily as he set it down. Glancing at Granger, I gingerly took a sip. It was quite nice actually. It was like Butterbeer, but less fizzy, and not quite as warm.

I looked up to see Granger staring at me. She hadn't touched her coke yet.

"Mr Malfoy," she said slowly. "Pansy is actually our only reliable witness... We don't really have any other leads... Your testimony won't help much. I really don't know what to do, Mr Malfoy. I'm so sorry."

To my utmost horror, I saw a couple of tears leak from the corner of her eyes. Please don't cry, I begged silently. Oh, for Merlin's sake, please don't cry.

Too late. She had covered her face with her hands and she was sobbing in earnest now, her shoulders shaking. Honestly, what was wrong with this woman? Why was it that she and I could never meet without her crying and/or falling?

Her sobs became louder. We were attracting a lot of funny looks. Several of them were in my direction. Blimey, they must think I'd just broken up with her or something. As I scanned the crowd, I realized that must have been exactly what they did think. I gave the people a painful sort of smile, trying to tell them that I had nothing to do with Granger crying.

"Granger," I hissed. "People are looking at us." Her only response was to cry harder. Several waiters were looking at us now.

I seized Granger's bag, which she had placed on the table, and fished out a handful of Muggle money. I chucked it on the table, and with a glance at my half-finished coke, I stood up. I grabbed Granger by the elbow and marched off, with her still in tow. As soon as we turned the corner and arrived at a seedy looking alleyway, I let go of her elbow.

"Pull yourself together, Granger! Why do you keep crying all the time?" I took a handkerchief and handed it to her. I grimaced as she blew her nose violently on it.

"I-I am s-s-sorry, b-but it's j-j-just the c-c-case is progressing really b-b-b-badly and I d-d-don't know what to d-d-d-do," she said through her tears.

"Well, the first thing to do is to stop crying," I said firmly.

She took a couple of deep, shuddering breath and her sobs became somewhat softer.

"I'm s-sorry for m-making such a fuss at the r-restaurant. I-I've been under a l-lot of st-stress lately," she took several bug gulps.

"No more than usual, surely?" I asked. As the head lawyer, surely she had handled way more difficult cases than this one.

"It's not th-that. It's just that all the cases I used to get are going to Romilda Vane," she said, wiping her eyes.

"The one with a voice like a musical saw?"

She managed a small smile and went on. "And lately my head's been in a mess, I'm thirty and single, how pathetic is that? And my ex is dating Parvati Patil." She laughed sourly. "I'm the only person I know who hasn't got a family. Everyone is multiplying. And I'm just..." She let the sentence hang.

I looked at her. Granger never seemed to be the housewife type to me. I always assumed she didn't have kids because she thought they would be a distraction to her career. I had no idea she actually wanted a little brood of mini-Grangers. And I had no idea that she would take this thirty and single thing so badly. She just didn't seem the type. Having defeated one of the greatest Dark wizards of all time and all. You never knew, did you? What a person was really like.

She steadied herself. It seemed she had stopped crying. I watched her rummage in her bag for something. She pulled out a compact. I almost snorted. Women were the same everywhere.

She held out my handkerchief.

"Thanks for the hanky," she said.

"Er, no. That's alright. You can keep it." No way was I ever touching that ever again.

"It's got your initials on," she said, looking at it. An ornate 'DM' was stitched at the corner.

"Yeah. It's custom-made. Don't worry, I've got about ten more at home."

Granger put the compact and the handkerchief back into her bag and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Mr Malfoy," she said. "I didn't mean to break down like that. It's just... I've got a lot of things on my mind."

"You like reading, don't you?" I asked.

"What?" Whatever she had been expecting, it was definitely not that.

"You like reading, don't you?" I repeated. I didn't really know why I was doing this. Maybe it was because I didn't want her to start crying again. But maybe it was something more. Something different. Maybe... Maybe I just wanted to see her smile again.

"Yes..." she said slowly, clearly wondering where this was going.

"Do you trust me?" I asked. Probably not, but it was worth a shot.

She gave me a long, clear look. She was probably weighing the pros and cons of trusting me on an imaginary scale or something. Finally, she said, "Not really..."

"That's not a no, is it?"

"No, I suppose it isn't," she said. "Fine. For the purposes of this discussion and this discussion only, I do trust you. Why?"

"Do you mind if I Side-Along you somewhere?" I asked. I didn't really know what I wanted her to say.

"No... But where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see when we get there," I said. I grabbed her arm and twisted into the crushing darkness. We reappeared in front of an ancient looking shop. In the front, there was a sign saying 'Gallighan's Bookstore'.

"I've never been here before," she said, looking at the sign.

"It's kind of a pureblood thing. Used to be, anyway. It's got really excellent books. Come on," I said, and lead the way in.

I could hear her gasp. The place was full of books of all shapes and sizes. Something on the nearest shelf caught her eye.

"Oh, my! Ancient Wizarding Law! I've been looking for this for ages! And The Earliest Statute! Wow!" she turned to me. "This place is brilliant!" Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with the fervor of finding all those excellent (in her opinion) books. Tucking some books under her arm, she said," I'm going to find more!"

I wandered around for the next hour, idly picking up a book or two. My mother used to bring me to this shop when I was younger, but I never saw the allure of it, and I still didn't. Books were never really my thing. Give me racing brooms any day.

Eventually, Granger found all the books she needed. There must have been at least a hundred there. Gallighan looked positively alarmed when he saw the amount of books he had to ring up.

When he was done, we went outside. I was enjoying the warmth and sunshine, which was welcome after the dark and dusty book shop, when Granger said, in a rather high-pitched voice, "Thank you. For bringing me here."

And then, almost impulsively, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek.

Her eyes widened, as though she was shocked at what she had just done. She turned abruptly and ran, her wild hair flying behind her.

As for me, I was positively bowled over. Granger had just kissed me. On the cheek. I felt the cheek where she had kissed me. It felt like it was burning.

Her lips were very soft and warm. Much softer than Astoria's, which were cold and hard. Granger had kissed me. Hermione Granger, who had once punched me and called me a twitchy little ferret. That certainly hadn't been on the list of things I was expecting to do before I died. It was... Surprising. To say the least.

But what surprised me more was how much I had enjoyed it, and how much I would have liked to kiss her back. 


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi. Thanks to everyone who review and added this to your Story Alerts and stuff. And thanks to my beta Anu (and occasionally Rashmita) without whom this story wouldn't have made it this far. Enjoy! And also sorry for not updating in a while. **

Hermione's POV

I had kissed Draco Malfoy. I had kissed Draco Malfoy. I had kissed Draco Malfoy. The thought resonated through my mind, repeating itself over and over, pounding a rhythm in my head. I had kissed Draco Malfoy.

I honestly didn't know what I had been thinking. I don't think I was thinking that much. We were just standing there, in the sun, outside that lovely shop and he just looked so... Kissable. I didn't know how I was going to even look at him now, after what had happened.

I wondered what he had felt. Surprise, probably. Repulsion? Maybe. He seemed to be over that now though. He wasn't the old, mudblood hater I used to know- But maybe he was. Who was I to say any different? I barely knew him, outside of him being my client. For all I knew, he baited Muggles in his spare time. Yet... I knew he didn't. I didn't know _how _I knew. Instinct, perhaps. Or maybe it was magic.

I was confused. That's probably why I ran for my life after I kissed him. I didn't know what I felt for him. Love was too strong a word. The beginnings of that? Faint stirrings of affection? No, it was more than that. I definitely knew, though, that I liked him, and I would like to see him outside my capacity as his lawyer.

But how did he feel? Maybe he felt the same- but the odds of that were so small as to be negligible. Most probably he felt nothing. He would make a joke of the kiss, probably say I had a touch of the sun or something. I thought of what Harry would say if I told him. Not that I would, of course. He'd have an apoplexy. But that was the problem. I didn't know anybody who wouldn't have an apoplexy when I told them I was attracted to Draco Malfoy.

Maybe I should ask him. Granted, I would probably be on the receiving end of some humiliation. But I felt deep within me a certainty that he would, at least let me down gently.

My thoughts followed me to work, right into my office. One look at the date, though, and all such thoughts were banished from my mind- It was the day of the second hearing.

I'd come away from the first one looking like a trainee lawyer. I should have been able to knock down that blasted underwear with my eyes closed. I was going to pay for that, I could tell- Parvati had the upper hand now and I shuddered at the thought of what she would produce at the next hearing.

I met Malfoy outside the courtroom. I went red the moment I saw him. Fortunately he didn't have time to say anything because the court doors opened at that moment and we were ushered into the court.

After all the formalities were completed, Parvati- wearing a sinister smile- said, her voice positively dripping with malicious satisfaction, "I would like to call a witness to the stand, Your Honor."

The court collectively inhaled. I looked at Draco. His eyes seemed to say _Don't know what she's talking about_.

"I would like to call," she paused, probably to give her bombshell maximum impact. "Ms Pansy Parkinson."

Gasps resonated through the courtroom. I glared at Malfoy.

"You told me there was nothing between you two!" I whispered.

"There isn't! I swear! She's lying, I tell you. You don't know her. She'll do anything for money," he said, his grey eyes boring into mine. I blinked furiously. This was no time to get lost in the contemplation of Draco Malfoy's eyes, however beautiful they might be. I turned to the stand. Pansy was looking extremely nervous as she took the stand, clad in a simple blue blouse and trousers. Parvati began her questioning.

"Ms Parkinson, is it true that you have been involved in an extra-marital affair with the defendant, Mr Draco Malfoy?"

Parvati fidgeted. "Yes," she said.  
>"For seven months now."<p>

Draco's mouth almost fell open. As did mine. Honestly, telling such lies in a court of law. I felt like laughing. And I had thought this was going to be a difficult case!

"Who initiated the affair?" Parvati asked. Pansy folded her hands in her lap before answering.

"He did."

I had had enough.

"Your Honor, there is absolutely _no_ evidence _whatsoever_ to prove that Miss Parkinson is telling the truth," I said. I should have said this in the last hearing. What was wrong with me? I must have been half asleep then.

"I have corroboration, in a testimony from my client, who will be happy to testify next, before Miss Granger's cross-examination," came Parvati's reply.

"Alright, alright. Miss Granger, you will have your chance to prove the lack of evidence. Miss Patil, continue. Although, be warned. You know the penalty of inducing a witness to give false testimony," Judge Bell said. "Carry on."

"And did he, at any time, indicate that he would like to end this affair?"

"No."

I shook my head slightly. If she was going to lie, she should at least do a proper job of it. Monosyllables would convince no one.

"How did it end, then?"

"His- Draco's- wife found us in the park together."

"Thank you, Ms Parkinson. You may leave- unless Miss Granger has any questions?" All heads turned towards me.

"No questions," I said. I was saving the best for last.

"I would like to call Ms. Greengrass to the stand," said Parvati. As Pansy left the same stand, I could swear she shot a furtive glance in Draco's direction. I knew, of course, that they'd dated at Hogwarts. Maybe she still had feelings for him? I felt strangely apprehensive about this. What is wrong with you? A voice in my head yelled. He's not your boyfriend!

"Ms. Greengrass," said Parvati. "Tell us about your marriage to the defendant."

"It wasn't a good one," Astoria Greengrass said. Clearly, she was a much more accomplished lawyer than the previous witness. "It was a marriage of convenience, not love."

"When did you find out that your husband was having extra marital affairs?"

"Quite recently. About two months ago, probably a little less than that. I saw him and Miss Parkinson together in the park after darkness."

"And you also found a piece of his undergarments in Miss Parkinson's house?"

"Yes."

With a quick glance in my direction, Parvati continued.

"Explain to the court the terms of your pre-nuptial agreement."

"It's quite simple. If Dra- the defendant, rather, was proved to have extra marital affairs, I would get half his fortune."

"And you found him cheating?"

"Yes."

"So according to the terms of the agreement, you get half the fortune."

"Yes."

"Do you think that you deserve this money, Ms. Greengrass?"

"Absolutely."

"Can you tell me why you feel that way?"

"We had a pre-nuptial agreement. He broke it."

"Thank you, Ms. Greengrass."

I stood up. This was one of the fun parts of being a lawyer. Exposing liars on the stand, watching them come apart as I poked holes in their carefully fabricated stories. It was extremely satisfying. It was vengeance, in a way.

I walked to the stand. The courtroom was silent.

"Miss Greengrass," I said, looking her straight in the eye.

"Yes?" she smirked slightly. Oh, she would pay for that.

"How much money do you stand to gain if you win this case?"

"I'm not sure."

"A rough estimate?" I knew perfectly well she knew exactly how much she would get- the clerk had read it out in the beginning of the case.

"About forty million galleons?" she said.

"A lot of money, wouldn't you say?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose," Astoria said. She had clearly no idea where this was going. Neither, it seemed, was Parvati.

"Your Honor," she jumped up. "This is irrelevant."

"That is not for you to say, Ms. Patil. Miss Granger, you may continue. But make sure you link it to the case soon," Judge Bell said.

I nodded.

"Enough money, wouldn't you say, to keep one comfortably for the rest of one's life?" I said.

"Y-yes."

"Enough money, wouldn't you say, to sue someone for?"

"Your Honor!" Parvati screeched. "Miss Granger is insinuating that our lawsuit is merely a tactic to gain money! I will not stand-"

"I wasn't insinuating anything like that. I was merely giving examples. Did you hear any names mentioned?" I smiled sweetly.

"I agree with Miss Granger. And Miss Patil, either lower your register in the court or invest in a bottle of Voice Deepening Remedy. Continue," Judge Bell said. Parvati sat down, looking abashed. _Take that, you cow,_ I thought triumphantly.

"What do you think, Ms. Greengrass? Is forty million galleons enough to sue someone for?"

"I- I suppose s-so," she said. I saw the beginnings of fear stir in her eyes.

"Tell me, Ms. Greengrass, other than the underwear, do you have any other evidence of your husband's indiscretions, if indeed there were any?"

"I saw him and Miss Parkinson in the park together," she said, defiantly.

"But that was just the one time, wasn't it? What were they doing? Kissing?"

"They were being... Intimate."

"Define intimate."

"They were- they were-"

"Intimate usually means that two people are engaging in acts of a sexual nature." I could feel Draco smirk behind me, even though I couldn't see him. "Were they? Were they engaging in acts of a sexual nature?"

"N-no."

"The truth is, they weren't even holding hands. They were just talking, weren't they?"

"But they'd done it before!" she said, going slightly red.

"Done what?" I leaned in closer. "Had sex?"

She shrank back a little, probably slightly intimidated. "Y-yes," she whispered.

"Sorry?" I said cheerfully. "I didn't quite catch that."

"Yes," her voice echoed through the court.

"Do you have proof?"

"The underwear."

"Yes, the infamous underwear. Do you have any proof that it is your husband's?"

"It's my husband's clothes! I should be able to recognize them!"

"Yes, you should. That's exactly it. Other than your word, we have no corroborating evidence that the underwear is in fact his."

"But I found it in her house!"

"Yes, you did. _You_ found it in her house. You have a motive, Ms. Greengrass. Forty million galleons will surely spur anyone one to plant a bit of false evidence."

Parvati jumped up again. "Your Honor!"

"Miss Granger, that was over the line. Watch your step."

"Yes, Your Honor."

Astoria was flushed. Good. That's exactly where I wanted her.

"In fact, Ms. Greengrass, when you look at it objectively, all the evidence seems to rest on you, and given that you are a direct party in this case, it is a little unconvincing."

"Pansy said that she and Draco were sleeping together!"

"She did. Are you absolutely convinced of her honesty?"

"Y-yes," she said, but her voice shook. And I wasn't the only one who noticed it. Judge Bell's eyes narrowed.

"Given, that she is an old partner of the defendant's and she might have her own personal agenda?"

"Y-yes." I looked at her closely, but she held my gaze, looking less confident than before.

I had no more questions for her. I hadn't won the case, but I had knocked it down somewhat. I just needed that one little bit of evidence, that one slip-up that had definitely happened somewhere, and the case would be in the bag. But I didn't have it. Not then, anyway.

"No more questions, Your Honor." I said, and strode back to my seat. Draco winked at me. "Nice going," he whispered. I smiled back at him, ignoring the warm glow inside me that had suddenly blazed up inside me at his words. But why should I ignore it? I had kissed him, after all

And I realized that, not with shock or horror or shame, but _pride_. I had kissed him, I had taken the first step. I had never done that before. I'd always been too scared of being rejected. Now it was time to take the next step: Telling him what I felt. Something told me that I was definitely in for a bumpy ride.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello! I know this chapter's been a long time coming, and I'm really, really sorry. What with exams and school and all, there wasn't really much free time. But I'm on vacation now, so I will update pretty frequently. I hope to have this story done by Christmas. Thank you for sticking by me! Enjoy.**

Draco's POV

"Do you want to get a drink tonight?"

I could not _believe_this. What was I _doing?_I must have gone completely mental. Was I actually asking _Granger_out for a drink?

Earlier that day, while having lunch with Blaise, I'd floated this cracked idea by him. For reasons which were completely unknown to me, he seemed to think it was a good idea. I had half-expected him to walk out on me.

"You totally should, man," he's said. "She's hot."

Blaise had a point there. But... Ever since Astoria had sprung this case on me, my life hadn't exactly been going swimmingly. I'd woken up everyday dreading the headlines that would definitely be present in the Daily Prophet. I'd spent days at a stretch indoors, dreading what people would say if they saw me walking on the streets. It was a lonely existence. But then again, I'd always had a lonely existence, even when I was married. Malfoys always did. It was like a family tradition.

I was okay with being lonely. It was all I'd ever had, and you can't miss something that never existed. But when I saw Granger for the first time, she was like everything I wasn't. After the war, I'd made all sorts of promises: I would make something of myself, I would give back, I would repair the damage that my father had caused. I hadn't done any of those things. But Granger had. And she made me feel like doing those things too. Agreed, asking her out for a drink wasn't exactly giving back to society. But it was a start.

"So," I repeated, since Granger didn't seem to be showing any signs of life. "Drink? Yes? No?"

Still no response. Her facial expression was a picture, though. It was as if someone had slammed a toad in her face.

"Drink? Like, as in...?" she said, sounding a bit drunk. Maybe a drink wasn't the best idea.

"Like, as in, two adults going out and drinking. Are you sure you're up to this?"

She had sat down at her desk and looked like she was sorting out some serious things(?) in that brain of hers. We were in her office. She had owled me the date of the next hearing and I'd decided to reply to it in the flesh.

"Yeah, yes, of c-course," she cleared her throat. Her face broke into one of those endearing smiles. "When and where?"

"I know a small pub round the corner from here. What say I'll meet you here at about 7?" I asked. A small part of my brain was going nuts. _Why was I even doing this?_

"Okay," said Granger, writing it down on what looked like the back of a Muggle laundry receipt. She smiled at me again. "See you then."

6.45 found me hanging around outside the visitors' entrance of the Ministry. I didn't want to be too early, lest I look too eager. I hadn't dated for so long, I'd forgotten what the appropriate time for showing up was.

Finally, at 6.55 I made my way to Granger's office. As I walked there, I realised how familiar that route had become. I fancied I could walk there with my eyes closed.

I walked into Granger's office and almost choked. She had changed into this lovely blue dress. And did I mention it was kind of short. I was used to seeing her in pantsuits, I never thought she'd look this good in a cocktail dress.

"G-Granger," I gulped. Wow. This was throwing me off more than I would have liked.

She giggled. Yes, that's right. _Giggled._"You know, you can call me Hermione now. We're not in court anymore."

_Hermione._I'd never noticed it before, but she had a really pretty name.

"Okay, H-Hermione," It felt weird calling her that.

The walk to the pub was accompanied by an awkward silence. We didn't really have that much in common, and since we weren't meeting in the capacity of lawyer/client, she couldn't even yell at me for dressing inappropriately for court or anything. But even though the conversation wasn't exactly first class, Granger- I mean, Hermione spent the whole walk to the pub grinning like someone had slightly overdone a Cheering Charm on her.

Once we were in the pub- not the quietest of places, by the way- Hermione said, with a slightly mischievous smile, "Well. We obviously aren't cut out to be conversationalists."

I laughed. "Yeah. Sorry. I really couldn't think of anything to say."

"That's alright," she said, looking at the menu. "I haven't done this in a while, you know."

"Neither have I, really. Actually, I think the last time I was on a date was when we were in Hogwarts."

She looked up, her expression one of interest and curiosity. "Really? Not even when you got together with Astoria?"

Wow. Someone was actually asking me personal information about my marriage. That was definitely something that had not happened before.

"Well, no, I mean, it wasn't- I didn't- With Astoria, it wasn't a marriage of love. It was one of convenience. She was a pure-blood, she had money, her family reputation hadn't been torn down by the war. It was the perfect match," I said, at the same time that my life so far had been pretty pathetic.

"And you didn't object?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think I really cared, to be honest. And besides, even if I had protested, it wouldn't have made much difference."

Hermione nodded slowly. Her staring was a little off-putting, to be honest. It was like I was one of those really intimidating-looking legal documents that were ever-present on her desk.

"So, enough about me sad life. What about yours? What happened between you and Weasley?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing. _Nothing_happened. That's probably why we didn't last. We were just friends, really. We both forced ourselves into something that we didn't want, or need."

"Why? Would've thought that you were smart enough to stay out of a thing like that." She stared at me. _Oh Merlin,_I thought. _Please don't start crying again._Please _don't start crying again._

Fortunately, the stare was just a stare. She followed it up with a sad sort of smile. "Yeah. Guess I did too."

The rather thorny silence was thankfully broken by a waitress, who came to take our orders.

"So, how's the case go-" I began.

"Please," Hermione said, holding up a hand. "Just for tonight, can we please not mention the case? It's just, I have enough of it at work, and it's kind of stressing me out."

"Sorry." _Come on, Draco. Think of something to talk about._

"Why did you become a lawyer?" I asked. "Why not an Auror?"

"Why did you think I wanted to be an Auror?" she sounded amused, like this wasn't the first time someone had asked her this question.

"Oh, you know, because you rid the world of evil and everything. And your friends-"

"Harry and Ron became Aurors?" she finished the sentence. Without waiting for a reaction, she went on. "I never wanted to be an Auror. To me, being an Auror was pretty limited. Your job ended at catching Death Eaters. Not, of course, that that's an easy thing to do, or an unworthy one, but I wanted to do _more._I wanted to go beyond catching bad guys and making sure they stayed in jail. So I went to the Ministry. I wanted to make things better for people. And when that was done, when the wounds of the war had healed and everyone had picked up most of the pieces, there wasn't anything left for me to do. So, I became a lawyer. When I was a girl, before I found out that I was a witch, I'd wanted to be a lawyer."

"Wow." Wow. She really knew what she wanted to do with her life. Wow. "That's... That's impressive."

"Is it? Isn't there something that you really really wanted to do? Oh, thank you," she said to the waitress, who had arrived bearing two Firewhiskeys. Was it just my imagination, or had she winked at me?

"No, no, there isn't. It's sad, really," I said, taking a sip of my Firewhiskey. It seared my throat, making me feel a little more active.

"I though Slytherins were supposed to be an ambitious lot?" she grinned cheekily.

"Yeah well," I shrugged. "I must have had an ambition once, I suppose. Maybe I've forgotten it."

Hermione raised the glass to her lips. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she put down the glass. "Oh no," she said. "We forgot to toast!" I laughed. That was it? I thought the Firewhiskey had been poisoned.

"Come on, G-Hermione. It's no big deal."

"It is!" she insisted. "It is!" She looked positively panicked now.

"Whoa, whoa, relax. If it means that much, we'll do it now, okay? To the case. May we win it," I said, holding my glass up. Something changed briefly in her expression, but then she clinked her glass against mine and drank.

The evening passed pretty quickly after that. We talked about all kinds of things, had a couple more drinks. It was nice. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had this much fun on a night out. Hell, I couldn't remember the last time I'd had this much fun. Before long, it was ten o' clock, and regrettably, time to leave. It was for the best, probably. My vision was getting a little hazy around the edges.

The waitress came back to clear the table. She winked at me again, and a piece of paper floated onto the table. It had an imprint of someone's – I assumed the waitresses'- lips on it. I grinned. This was the first time a girl had come on to me in ages. I looked up at the waitress. She definitely wasn't a bad looking woman. I winked back at her. I stuffed the paper into my pocket and looked up at Granger. "Shall we go?"

Her expression was stony. She was looking at me with what looked like disgust and-was it possible?-sadness. But in a second she had rearranged her features, so her face was just as smooth as before.

"Yes, it's getting late," she said, in a blank voice which was missing her usual cheerful tone. "It's-it's alright, I can see myself out. Goodbye." She stood up and gave me a long, inscrutable look. With a sigh, she walked off, leaving me sitting at our table wondering what had happened.

I put my hand into my pocket and it brushed against the slip of paper the waitress had given me. And then I understood.

I was a fool. I was such an idiot, what the hell was I thinking? I cringed. What was wrong with me? I'd flirted with a girl while I was out with another girl. And not just any girl. Hermione Granger. For the first ever there was a girl I actually wanted to impress, a girl whom I wanted to like me. A beautiful girl who'd actually agreed to go out with me, and was actually showing an interest in me and I had gone and fucked it all up.

I'd been thinking all this while hurrying to get out of the bar and find Hermione. I had to apologise, tell her I was drunk, that I didn't mean it, that I wouldn't have gone back to that waitress. But by the time I got outside, it was too late. She had gone. As had any hopes of us every becoming friends- or maybe even something more. With a sinking feeling in my stomach I realized that I wanted that something more, whatever it was. Brilliant. Just brilliant. I kicked the ground bitterly. _Great job, Draco. You finally had something good going for you and you messed it up as usual._

I apparated back home. I still couldn't get over what an blooming arse I'd been. Merlin, how she must have felt when she saw me grinning at that bloody waitress like some kind of pervert. I screamed at myself again and again, "Idiot! You bloody idiot!" But then, I thought bitterly, Malfoys always were idiots. It was like a family tradition.


End file.
